If we miss contentment, then that is often our own fault—and the fault not of our bodies but of our souls. - Plutarch

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.

No necesito amigos que cambien cuando yo cambio y asientan cuando yo asiento. Mi sombra lo hace mucho mejor.

And the most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men; sometimes a matter of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs us better of their characters and inclinations, than the most famous sieges, the greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever. Therefore as portrait-painters are more exact in the lines and features of the face, in which the character is seen, than in the other parts of the body, so I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks and indications of the souls of men, and while I endeavor by these to portray their lives, may be free to leave more weighty matters and great battles to be treated of by others.